Actor Ratna Pathak in her recent interview conceded that she is scared of her husband Naseeruddin Shah’s outspokenness and has advised him to maintain discretion for the fear of being attacked by stone-pelters and those offended by his remarks.
Pathak made the remarks during her interview with Siddharth Kanan. At 11:50 onwards in the interview, Pathak talks about her fear of Shah’s outspokenness and how she had been holding him back from expressing his opinions.
When asked if she stops her husband, Naseeruddin Shah, known for airing his controversial views, Pathak replied, “In today’s era, if anyone comes and stands in front of you and starts pelting stones at us at home, what will you do. That’s why I often stop Naseer from giving his opinion on any issue. And anyway, we are all finding it difficult to get work. Nowadays, there are many reasons why people are not getting work.”
However, she added that one has to be sensible and not scared in expressing their opinions in public.
“Many things are going wrong in the world. If we do not point out them then how will they improve, we have not taken the responsibility of correcting every wrong thing. What will happen next will be seen. Just living with this thought,” Pathak said.
Nupur Sharma faced Islamist outrage for defending her faith
Pathak’s remarks come months after former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma faced Islamist outrage and calls for beheading for standing up for her faith after Islamic leader Taslim Rehmani insulted Shivling on a Times Now debate.
Earlier this year, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma found herself at the centre of a raging storm after Islamists, egged on by the likes of AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair, issued multiple threats against her and her family for expressing her views on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
Sharma was a part of a debate panel on Times Now, discussing the finding of Shivling in the Gyanvapi complex and the subsequent mockery of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses that followed in the wake of the discovery. Islamists have claimed that the Shivling discovered inside the wuzukhana of the Gyanvapi disputed structure was not a Shivling but a fountain. Across social media platforms, detractors have been repeating ad nauseam that the Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi premises is a fountain and not an idol of a Hindu God.
In response to the contempt and scorn poured over Hindu Gods and Goddesses, which was evident even during the Times Now debate where some of the fellow panellists referred to the Shivling as a fountain, BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma asked them to refrain from insulting Hindu Gods and cited Islamic scriptures and Holy Quran for substantiating her remarks on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
However, her edited video was later shared by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to dog whistle Islamists against her, prompting ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protests across the country, with Islamists calling for the beheading of Nupur Sharma under the pretext of ‘blasphemy’.
Several protests saw stone-pelting and other violent incidents, including one in protesters hung an effigy of Nupur Sharma, indicating the fate that awaited the former BJP leader for her comments on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
In fact, several Hindus became victims of the Islamist outrage, including Kanhaiya Kumar from Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe from Amravati, who were both mercilessly hacked to death by Islamists for merely expressing solidarity with Nupur Sharma.
